News Releases
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New Research: Coaching Healthcare Workers Supports Wellness and Resilience During COVID-19
During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers face unprecedented challenges that pose a threat to mental health and resilience. A preliminary assessment of a program of coaching for healthcare workers, presented at the American Psychiatric Association’s Annual Meeting, held online, finds it is effective in supporting workers’ wellness and resilience.
New Study Documents Increased Anxiety Among Black Emerging Adults from Exposure to Police Violence
Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent disorders for Black emerging adults 18 to 29 years of age in America. Frequent exposure to police violence among Black emerging adults puts this population at risk for increased rates of anxiety disorders, according to a new study from researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and presented at the American Psychiatric Association’s Annual Meeting, held online.
Culturally Based Online Peer Support Group Brought Mental Health Benefits During COVID-19; Has Promise for Other Usage
A new online culturally based support program, CHATogether may serve as an effective peer support model during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, according to a new study from researchers at Yale. The research was presented at the American Psychiatric Association’s Annual Meeting, held online this year.
New Study Examines Relationship Between Parental Acceptance of Lesbian and Gay Children and Later Life Mental Health
A new study, released today at the American Psychiatric Association’s 2021 Annual Meeting, held online, examines the relationship between parental acceptance of lesbian and gay children’s sexual orientation and their mental health in later life. The study finds that a consistent perspective, even negative, leads to better outcomes for lesbian and gay people, than parents with changing perspectives.
Frontline Physicians Oppose Legislation That Interferes in or Criminalizes Patient Care
Several state legislatures across the country have recently introduced or are deliberating bills that would restrict delivery of gender-affirming care for gender-diverse patients, specifically for children and adolescents.
APA Statement on the Shootings in Georgia
Yesterday, eight people, including many women of Asian descent, were shot dead at spas in Georgia. During the COVID-19 pandemic, inflammatory language and violent acts have placed the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities and businesses at risk. While authorities are still investigating the motive, it comes at a time when anti-Asian American racism has swelled in the United States. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) issued the following statements.
APA Praises Inclusion of Mental Health Funding and Provisions in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
The American Psychiatric Association applauded the inclusion of several provisions important to mental health in the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (H.R. 1319), that passed the U.S. House of Representatives today. The final package, which the president is expected to sign soon, includes around $4 billion in funding for programs that support prevention of and treatment for mental health and substance use disorders.
Top Diversity and Equity Leaders in Psychiatry Offer Guidelines for Academic Medicine in New Article and Commentary from American Journal of Psychiatry
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) leaders in academic medicine are subject to increasing expectations with limited resources and there is an urgent need for psychiatry departments to commit to fully supporting their efforts, according to an article now available in the American Journal of Psychiatry written by top DEI leaders in academic psychiatry from across the country.
Media Encouraged to Attend APA Annual Meeting Online May 1 - 3, 2021
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) Annual Meeting will be held online May 1 - 3, 2021. The theme for the meeting is "Finding Equity Through Advances in Mind and Brain in Unsettled Times," and the program will examine the concept of equity in many forms. Among the major topics to be discussed are racism, climate change, health equity, technology, COVID-19, trauma, and social determinants in community functioning.
APA Statement on COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution for People with Serious Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders
As the COVID-19 vaccine is being administered across the country, the American Psychiatric Association called on state public health authorities today to include people with serious mental illness (SMI) and substance use disorders (SUD) to the equivalent of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Phase 1-C of their prioritization schedules. The recommendation coincides with APA’s recently released guidance document, The Role of the Psychiatrist in the Equitable Distribution of the COVID-19 Vaccine.
Dr. Rebecca W. Brendel Is Named APA President-Elect
The members of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) have chosen Rebecca W. Brendel, M.D., J.D., as the medical society’s next president-elect. The results were released today but are not official until the APA Board of Trustees confirms them at its March meeting.
APA Condemns Pepper-Spraying, Handcuffing of 9-Year-Old Girl by Rochester Police
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) released a statement today on the situation in Rochester, NY, where, as police responded to a family disturbance call, a 9-year-old girl experiencing a mental health crisis was pepper-sprayed, pushed into the snow, and handcuffed by the police. In a body-cam video released Sunday by the Rochester police department she was calling for her father.